As COVID-19 seemingly begins to wind down and the clutches the coronavirus has on our lives start to loosen, it’s evident that RVs are about to take over the world. There seems to be a palpable, measurable pulse that’s rising in the RV community.
With over 2.2 million RVs sold in the last five years alone and tens of millions more on the road already, the anticipation has risen to a fever pitch. Camp Corona looks to finally be closing and real RVing may actually begin.
Out of storage and back on the road. Photo via SteelMaster Buildings on Flickr Creative Commons
A peaceful protest
That pulse is rising with excitement however, not chaos. While scenarios playing out in the daily news picture cooped up quarantiners shouting Let Our Beaches Go! and We Need Haircuts, RV owners have been carefully biding their time watching YouTube videos about RVing and learning about RV maintenance and upgrades in anticipation of release day.
You’ll find these laid-back RVing refugees checking on campground closures and more importantly, reopenings. Facebook is awash with new RVers yet to try their new camper or motorhome, save for brief driveway camping stint to learn about the features of their new toy. Driveway camping is not just for the newly initiated either. Veteran RVers can be found across the country setting up their driveway camps with the efficiency of an Indy pit crew, ensuring they are ready when their corner of the world reopens.
What will be open?
As daily news reports outline which businesses and government entities will reopen, RVers flock to online sources to confirm the latest information and gobble up any available campsites that may have opened up. Like digital locusts, RVers are swarming top campground sites like RV LIFE Campgrounds in hopes to locate an open campground near them.
A recent campground in Pennsylvania booked all 155 campsites just three hours after being allowed to open again. It’s not just campgrounds either. RV dealers are expecting a deluge of purchasing and service requests while biding their time with online chats, Zoom meetings, and video walk-throughs in preparation for that moment when they can reopen their doors.
Camping in Arizona. Photo by Benjamin Disinger via Flickr Creative Commons
It seems RVing is and will be for the near future, the best alternative to traditional vacation options. Throughout the RV industry, prudent optimism is providing the background noise to an escalating buzz that is starting to permeate all aspects of the RVing community.
Few Americans are interested in getting on a cruise ship, and traveling abroad holds little appeal, much to the dismay of Expedia and the airlines. Standard road trips might still entice those looking for adventure, but finding a pandemic-free hotel room and safe restaurants will be a concern to those who just spent two months locked in their own homes and are unwilling to risk exposure again.
RVing will be number one
That leaves the wonderful, magical world of RVing. Yes, there will still be the occasional Robin Williams moment with your RV. At the end of the day, however, it will be you and your family in an RV that is yours, knowing where it’s been and who has been in it. You’ll sleep in your own bed every night, knowing who put the sheets on and when they were last washed.
You’ll know who cooked your meals and where the food came from. You can spend time outdoors, burning off that pent-up summertime energy. Kids that have routinely been up past midnight playing Animal Crossing on their Nintendo Switch, will now be exhausted and asleep by 9:00 pm, leaving some quiet campfire time for the parents.
Whether you visit that national monument you’ve always wanted to see, or simply take your crew to a family-oriented RV park that has every activity imaginable, you can vacation on your terms. Perhaps you just want to hit the road with no real destination in mind.
Plan a trip, find campgrounds, and drive. Go RVing, the allure of the open road is real. When your RV vacation is over, you’ll have more than just great memories, you’ll still have that RV. Just clean it up and get ready for your next adventure. You thought lather, rinse, repeat was just for shampoo?
“On the road again, I just can’t wait to get on the road again” ~ Photo by faungg via Flickr Creative Commons
Get ready for it
It’s coming. You can feel it. Spend any amount of time on social media or a popular RVing forum like iRV2 and you can feel the restlessness. Camping will start late this year, but it will have a long burn. RVers won’t be so quick to store their rig for the winter, and they won’t be quite so expeditious to winterize. Many will extend their camping season into the cold season.
It may take years for vacation travel to return to normal—if it ever does. Expect RVing to build on the growth it has seen in the last several years and become the new vacation normal. RVs will continue to become more popular, more valuable, and have a higher resale value. It may not be quite the same as a chicken in every pot, but an RV on every lot is not out of the question.
See also: 8 Reasons Why RVing Will Flourish After COVID-19
All around RV industry enthusiast who has been RVing for 8 years and enjoys trips with his wife and dogs in their diesel pusher.
I think the CORVID 19 has not gone away although some places the amount of infections has declined. For the most part the numbers are going up, not down. Although many states are slowly opening, I think the reason is the adverse impact the epidemic has had on small businesses. I agree camping is a good way to get away from home, but people still need to stay socially apart. Although many young people are not catching this deadly disease they are NOT immune to it. From what I’ve read in the newspapers and seen in the on-line articles, each state has different rules. Some parks will open while others won’t. I’ve seen pictures of parks where the people who went there trashed it, which means the likelihood of disease is much greater.
If a family goes out, practice distancing, good hygiene, and stay away from others.
Not sure about the wind down with COVID 19?? The new future is living safely with it and those around us. Campgrounds will have to adjust their prices if all they can offer is a patch of land with hook ups
I agree with the whole written article and will be living it as I just booked my first of many trips with my class c.
My motorhome has become a refuge of sorts sitting in my yard as I have had a few campfires and spent some hours hanging out enjoying the change of scenery listening to music. I love the camping lifestyle and wonderful people you meet.
Thanks to rvlife.com
I hope the optimistic tone of this article becomes the new reality.
I have seen total busts in RV world for much less difficulties than the virus.
RV ownership requires a steady stream of extra money. Those with paid for older RVs are in better shape, probably.
It takes more confidence than many have to sign up for 10 years of $500 monthly payments or 20 years @ $2,500 per month. Some can handle it; some can’t.
If a lot of people decide they can’t afford their RV, then there will be a huge number of RVs for sale. The value of used RVs could drop.
Anyone brave enough to buy an RV could likely find a better bargain in a used RV. This could lower a buyer’s risk.
Why buy new when one could buy a late model RV with most defects fixed for 1/4 the price of a new RV?
This may be what’s coming.
What a great article! And I hope you are correct in your predictions and here is why.
After 9/11, my wife and I lost our desire to fly and, soon after, found an alternative in RVing. As we eased into retirement, we traveled less and found a great place to have a permanent spot on a lake. It was affordable, close to our house and it became our second home. We started with a 27.5′ trailer, then upgraded to a 34′ fifth wheel. That one was delivered to the site because I had no intention of ever towing it. My truck and I were too old to deal with that.
Times changed. The deal we had with the permanent spot ended when the park was sold. The new owners decided that this spot was theirs. We had 30 days to vacate and had to pay to move the 5’er into storage. That led to our next decision.
Given the fact that I did not want to tow the 5th wheel and could not justify buying a new truck to do so, I investigate other options and came to some very interesting conclusions.
First, our “kids” have children of their own, live a long way away and have RV’s of their own so, how much room do we need?
The 5th wheel, with it’s bedroom and living/dining room slide outs was great. But, the fact was, my wife and I only used the bedroom and dining areas. The living room with it’s sofa and two rocker recliners, not so much. The extra storage was great, but it ended up being filled with stuff we transferred from home and was barely used.
So, I weighed these factors and concluded that we needed was a smaller motor home. Something that I can afford, and be comfortable driving. We would use it less but give us the flexibility to still travel, tow my trailered boat, my old truck or a used, smaller truck with a car top boat.
I found a new, old stock Jayco 22J on-line at a reasonable price. Since it was over 100 miles away, I decided to buy it, and sell the 5’er in storage, privately or on consignment. But, two things happened.
First, shortly after taking delivery of the Jayco, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. That put me out of commission for two months.
Just when I was recovering from this, Number Two happened…Covid 19. Who wants, can afford or visit an RV lot?
So, I am hoping you are correct in your forecasting. I do not want to give my 5th wheel trailer away. I also do not want to continue to pay storage fees any longer than I have to.
All true but the reality is the mismatch between campgrounds and RV’ers in popular locations. And the comment of going without a plan doesn’t really work any more
You sir are a risk taker and one of many who contributes to a headlong rush to put those at risk from COVID-19 needlessly in harms way.
Good luck to you!
Well done!
The self-induced panic and state government-induced shutdown has done more harm to this country than the virus ever could. I don’t know of anyone who had the virus and I don’t know of anyone who knows anyone who had it. If you have preconditions, are sick or are otherwise at risk stay home and stay safe. Otherwise, get out in the fresh air and enjoy life. It’s safe for 99.996% of the population. Living in a bubble is not living.
Dream on!
Reason some campgrounds are fully booked is that thousands of full-timers have been hounded out of campgrounds across the country and have nowhere else to go apart from the very few campgrounds that are still open
There’s no doubt, RV’s are the preferred sleeping quarters of many versus hotels, motels, B&B, and other vacationing arrangements. However, while the outlook remains positive for RV use, there are several negative trends that will affect the total RV industry. First of all, massive unemployment will result in decreased RV sales both new and used. During the shutdown of the economy due to Covid-19, millions are going into unprecedented debt, which means disposable income will be limited for many months to come. Taking on more debt will not be a frugal choice if families have run up massive credit card borrowing just to survive. Banks will tighten their lending requirements going forward. Outstanding loan defaults are rising and banks will be reluctant to extend lending to those already overburdened with debt.
We all know the fable of killing the golden goose. RV parks have been raising their fees disproportionately to their cost increases for the last several years since new park openings have not kept pace with rising RV sales. More campers are competing for limited spaces, which means impromptu RV trips are becoming less frequent due to limited availability of park sites in the near term.
It’s expensive to build a new park but higher fees will eventually dampen industry growth if ‘greed’ exceeds ‘common sense’. Many RV’ers already prefer the more affordable COE and state parks over private campgrounds. Because of these rising fees, people are forced to plan and make reservations months in advance since many can’t or don’t want to pay the higher prices for a weekend outing in a private campground.
There’s no dispute that the RV life is growing but Covid-19 has injected unprecedented constraints on the industry. I believe It will take a few years for the growth seen over the last 3 -5 years to return.
This article pretty much sums it up, great job….RVs are going to take over the world! So agree. But theres only one thing I would correct, Rvs already have the world. No other industry can say that 🤗
I have wanted to buy an RV for so long, and still plan someday to do that. My family of 8 are severely allergic and asthmatic and on top of that we hate hotels. We always thought hotels were icky for all the reasons you just mentioned and it has nothing to do with this virus. So, honestly, why anyone would want to travel any other way is beyond me. Rving is a one of a kind opportunity, to have a home away from home without picking up germs and illnesses, bed bugs, living in someone else’s filth and being forced to live as well to another person’s cleanliness standard. Hotels always smell funny too, it’s rare to find one my family can live with, literally.
Rvs belong to you, they are your smells, your germs, your own familiar place that you can relax at night knowing you ARE home, they smell how you choose, they can be kept as clean as you want…and those awful bed bugs, well, they aren’t welcome, you control your rig, you choose the location too. How many hotels put guests next to areas, a door, elevator, etc that make a person miserable and waking up at night is strange too. It’s like what’s that noise? In an RV you get to choose, or even leave and say, moving on this place is awful. No repacking suitcases and trying to run for cover, in the middle of the night. Nope. No bites from some insect, laying under your mattress. No hefty hotel bills either!!!! No inconvenience of any kind that leaves you severely sick, congested because oh ya, the hotel has one of those fake smelly scented fans that takes over the entire lobby. Oops, did not know that, now we are sick….great vacation. Uh no. Rving solves a multitude of issues, believe me.
No Covid-19 issues the last 47 years of my life and I can say, my family and I, still never wanted to stay in a hotel. Not one time. But have we had too? Yes, sadly. To be completely honest, some limited hotels are truly a pleasure to stay in and even those hotels need to be decontaminated from the dirt, ick and smells they have. Now add in this virus! Seriously, my hotel days are over. Just top the virus in the huge heap of reasons to skip hotels and RV instead.
Why we have yet to RV? Health and financial reasons and of coarse we needed a tow vehicle….which we just finally bought a year ago! So yes, Rving is in our future. Now, if only we could transform hotel parking lots into makeshift campgrounds. 😁 Because we are sensitive to camp fires……😔😔😔😔😔😔😔
Unfortunately I think many new people to RVing are going to have a less than pleasant experience. The economy will be in the red for a couple years so Joe sixpack will buy the cheapest trailer or 5th wheels from the big name companies (Thor for instance), most of which today are total junk. If the sales pace picks up look for quality to fall off even more if that is even possible. They will buy them from places like Camping World where they will basically get robbed and then, when the RV breaks down (when not if) that is where it will be parked for months while being fed the lie “we are waiting for parts”. Even if they buy expensive higher quality rigs even though it sounds romantic RVing is not for everyone. Yes there will be an initial rush of newbies which will overcrowd already crowded sites. It will not be the fun experience you are trying to portray here at all for a lot of them. Once the frustration sets in it won’t last.
This assumes that the number of RV accomodations in the country will remain static, despite a new glut of travelers. But nobody in the business is going to leave that kind of money on the table, especially when they start reaping profits at full capacity.
Even with good credit, I hear banks are not giving loans for used RV’s. How will people looking to purchase slightly used RV’s ever going to get financing even if they have good credits if the banks don’t step up?
The naysayers doom and gloom sayers are apparently alive and well. Fact remains, the RV remains the best, most logical way to safely travel. After 45 years of this lifestyle, I no longer have a “season” or winterizing is no longer an option. I so look forward to my spring trip options.
I live with me last, and service dog, full time. Our Vectra is a 1993, 93k miles. We pay 350.00 monthly for hook ups. This is true freedom.
Being selfish here, but I hope you are wrong. When I was assigned overseas, we sold our Georgetown and the plan has been to buy a truck and fifth wheel as soon as we get back to the states. The prospect of there being millions of newbie RVers crowding the campgrounds not only makes it harder for people who truly enjoy the lifestyle to get a site, it also increases the chance of being surrounded by people without any regard for their fellow campers.
It can go both ways. RV is a luxury item, so people might have no money to get one. On the other hand, boondocking and being out in the middle of nowhere is the best social distancing.
I agree. I had all these thoughts two months ago when they were just starting to shut the country down. If it hadn’t been for the worry that we’d get out on the road and find no parks open for overnights, we would have pretty much ignored the whole stay-at-home from day one instead of getting screwed out of most or all of an RVing season. All it will take is to open those parks, and I’m outta here.
I hope your optimistic outlook prevails, but I have serious doubts. For all the reasons given in the other comments, plus the fact that—as people go on not being able to work, and certainly not buying luxury items—they will start literally running out of money. Many will, however unwillingly, begin eyeing their RVs as a quick way to gain a chunk of cash, and sell them. Because few other people will have the money to buy them, it will be a buyer’s market.
As a fulltimer whose old rig has seen better days, I’m certainly watching for this to happen, because sellers will be far more willing to negotiate on price than usual. Though I’m not anyone who takes joy in benefiting from others’ pain, I’m old enough to understand now that everything comes in waves and cycles, and eventually balances out. I’ve been on the other end of that situation more times than I can count, so I’m not going to feel bad if things work out in my favor for once. But it doesn’t bode well for the economy as a whole.
The only upside I can see is that these used rigs will be more affordable for those who were already on the edge financially before this recession/depression that’s surely coming, and who will now find fulltiming their only option to becoming homeless. I’m not conjecturing about this, I’m already seeing it on the road.
As for the person who asked what people will do who want to buy a used RV but banks won’t lend for that: Many of us have known for years that this is where credit unions shine. They’re member-owned and usually locally governed, far more lenient with credit.
People always flock everywhere on Memorial Day. That’s most likely why it happen, when they reopened the country.
“If a lot of people decide they can’t afford their RV, then there will be a huge number of RVs for sale. The value of used RVs could drop.”
Bingo! Better perspective now that it’s 2021. It’ll start this summer as vaccination numbers continue to rise and things open up more and more. People will revert back to their old travel ways and quickly abandon the camping life they really didn’t want in the first place. And I”ll be there to snatch up a great deal!